All visual information leaving the eye is conveyed in the activity of retinal ganglion cells (RGCs). In humans and other animals with a highly developed visual system, RGCs belong to functionally distinct classes that respond selectively to different features in the visual environment. The objective of the proposed research program is to determine the prenatal maturation of RGCs in the macaque monkey and the mechanisms that contribute to M and P cell differentiation. We will focus on the two major classes of primate RGCs, the M and P classes. The proposed study involves three sets of experiments. The first major series of experiments (Specific Aim 1) will test the hypothesis that RGCs are responsive to visual stimuli before birth and the differentiation of cells with M-like and P-like response properties begins before birth. The second series of experiments (Specific Aim 2) will test the hypothesis that M and P RGCs express class-specific differences in their intrinsic membrane properties and these differences emerge before birth. Finally, the third series of experiments will test the hypothesis that M and P RGCs express class-specific genes related to the development of distinct visual function, intrinsic physiological properties and morphological differences associated with these distinct visual pathways. The proposed research program will break new ground by increasing our understanding of the mechanisms underlying the formation of the M and P pathways which are a distinguishing feature of the primate visual system. Given the central importance of retinal ganglion cells for vision, it is important that we understand the mechanisms that guide their differentiation during development, as disorders during development underlie several illnesses affecting vision and visual processing.

Public Health Relevance

Retinal ganglion cells provide the brain with information about the visual environment. Given the severe financial and quality-of-life consequences that follow from disorders of retinal ganglion cell function, it is important that we have a better understanding of the mechanisms that underlie their development. The goal of this proposal is to determine the cellular and molecular mechanisms that underlie the functional differentiation of retinal ganglion cells.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Eye Institute (NEI)
Type
Research Project (R01)
Project #
5R01EY016182-08
Application #
8517727
Study Section
Central Visual Processing Study Section (CVP)
Program Officer
Steinmetz, Michael A
Project Start
2004-10-01
Project End
2015-07-31
Budget Start
2013-08-01
Budget End
2014-07-31
Support Year
8
Fiscal Year
2013
Total Cost
$360,649
Indirect Cost
$123,149
Name
University of California Davis
Department
Neurology
Type
Schools of Medicine
DUNS #
047120084
City
Davis
State
CA
Country
United States
Zip Code
95618
Kiley, Caitlin W; Usrey, W Martin (2017) Orientation Tuning of Correlated Activity in the Developing Lateral Geniculate Nucleus. J Neurosci 37:11549-11558
Usrey, W Martin; Alitto, Henry J (2015) Visual Functions of the Thalamus. Annu Rev Vis Sci 1:351-371
Iwai, Lena; Ohashi, Yohei; van der List, Deborah et al. (2013) FoxP2 is a parvocellular-specific transcription factor in the visual thalamus of monkeys and ferrets. Cereb Cortex 23:2204-12
Rubin, Carol M; van der List, Deborah A; Ballesteros, Jose M et al. (2011) Mouse mutants for the nicotinic acetylcholine receptor ß2 subunit display changes in cell adhesion and neurodegeneration response genes. PLoS One 6:e18626
Moore 4th, Bartlett D; Kiley, Caitlin W; Sun, Chao et al. (2011) Rapid plasticity of visual responses in the adult lateral geniculate nucleus. Neuron 71:812-9
Rathbun, Daniel L; Warland, David K; Usrey, W Martin (2010) Spike timing and information transmission at retinogeniculate synapses. J Neurosci 30:13558-66
Chalupa, Leo M (2009) Retinal waves are unlikely to instruct the formation of eye-specific retinogeniculate projections. Neural Dev 4:25
Sun, Chao; Warland, David K; Ballesteros, Jose M et al. (2008) Retinal waves in mice lacking the beta2 subunit of the nicotinic acetylcholine receptor. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 105:13638-43
Murray, Karl D; Rubin, Carol M; Jones, Edward G et al. (2008) Molecular correlates of laminar differences in the macaque dorsal lateral geniculate nucleus. J Neurosci 28:12010-22
Chalupa, Leo M (2007) A reassessment of the role of activity in the formation of eye-specific retinogeniculate projections. Brain Res Rev 55:228-36

Showing the most recent 10 out of 11 publications